Chronicles of Sword and Soul
by Trevyler
Summary: From cadet to emperor. The son of a well known commander and war hero nonetheless. Gideon will become a hero, but he does not yet know it. Along the way he will meet friends, make enemies, and discover the truth behind the country he served. Let's start at the beginning as a mere cadet in the Grandall army. Obviously set it Chronicles of the Sword.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody and welcome to my first Soul Calibur fanfic. I'm not sure of anyone even knows what Soul Calibur is or likes it anymore, but I do and I decided to write a story about it. Hopefully this'll bring it some attention if someone decides to actually check this out. This particular story takes place within the Chronicles of the Sword universe. You know that really awesome side mode that could've been a game on its own? Yeah that one. The main character who will take on the role of the Cadet, is one of my many Created Characters. There are also other other characters that are mine, but a lot of the actual COTS characters will be there too. Most noticeably Abelia, Girardot, Chester, Strife, Aeneas, Riese. Yeah you get the picture. One thing I want to note is that due to that stupid COTS memory corruption glitch, I haven't been able to play this mode for some before I start talking a lot more than I already have, let's start the story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1:THE CADET AND THE FIRST TEST**

Girardot looked around at his new cadets that he would be instructing today.

He walked up and down the line, "Today is the day that you will learn to take up your sword to protect your country. Each and everyone will do as instructed or there will be consequences! We are at war, this is no room for mistakes or petty squabbles! Only those will the will to live and the mind to listen will survive out here. This is no game. Innocent lives are at stake and I'm not going to let them down because you find yourself in over your head! To anyone who cannot fulfill these requirements, I suggest that you leave immediately. " he made his point clear.

A few cadets scattered quickly, earning looks of disapproval from those who remained.

The general stood before the remaining cadets, "Then today you all have taken an oath to protect your home and your loved ones. Everything is at stake! The people of Grandall are trusting you with there safety and you will not let them down! Understood?" he finished.

The cadets saluted him, "Yes General!" they repled.

He chuckled, "Them today we'll have our first training exercise. I will divide you into teams of four and you will each be tested by a few of Grandall's soldiers." he told them.

A cadet who was one of the few not wearing the standard cadet uniform sighed. He hoped that he would at least get a competent team. His father had been a commander in the war and had talk him everything he knew from the time he could walk and talk. Most of the people here had parents who were farmers or merchants.

Girardot stood at the front and started calling out names, "Team 1 will include: Aeneas, Riese..." the cadet stopped listening to any name that he didn't recognize.

He noted that the first two names called belonged to a man with dark blonde hair and purplish-blue armor and a woman in a reddish dress with dark blue hair.

He started listening to Girardot again as he heard a name he knew all too well, "Benjamin Steiner, Jane Capulet, Gideon Sparda, Nera Fortuna." ha called out.

Gideon recognized his name as one of the members of the group plus his lifelong friend Ben. He didn't have any idea who the other two, who he assumed to be women, were.

As everyone went into there intended groups, he headed over to the familiar face of his friend, "Well what are the odds." he said.

Ben wore a dark green hunter's jacket with a leather vest over it, fingerless gloves, brown hunter's pants, and black buckled boots. His hair was messy and brown while his eyes were a light shade of green.

Ben patted his back, "Yep it's good to see you too man. Have any idea who these other group members are?" he asked.

Gideon shook his head, "Not a clue." he replied.

A clearly feminine voice cleared their throat, "I would be Jane." she said.

The girl had dark brown hair that was tied into a ponytail and brown eyes. She looked a bit impatient or expecting at the moment.

She just stood looking at them awaiting a response, "Well are you gonna tell me which one of you is who?" she asked.

Gideon chuckled, "I'm Gideon and this idiot right here is Ben." he responded.

The girl nodded, "Well I guess we're missing someone still then." she replied as if there had never been a question or an answer.

Another obviously female voice was heard, "That would be me! I'm Nera. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." she said politely.

Ben gave a small wave while Jane nodded in acknowledgement.

Gideon rolled his eyes, "Since these two are going to be silent I guess I have to introduce all of us. I'm Gideon. The guy staring at you over there is Ben. And the girl over there is Jane." he introduced all three of them.

Ben glared at him for pointing that out and Jane didn't respond.

Nera smiled, "I know who you are. You're Commander Jared's son right?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah. Why do you ask?" he decided to see where this is going.

She adjusted the bracelets on her wrist, "My father was a soldier in the war and your father saved his life. You have a lot to live up to. You're dad's a war hero." she told him.

He crossed his arms, "Why do you think I'm here? Just for the hell of it? No I'm gonna carry on his legacy. He's getting to old for this. By the way, you don't look like you're going to war dressed like that."

She laughed lightly, "Looks can be deceiving." she argued.

He chuckled, "Alright then." he ended the conversation.

Girardot once again appeared at the front of the crowd, "Be prepared. Choose your weapon wisely as it'll be the difference between life and death. The first group to go will be led by Gideon." he announced.

Gideon himself groaned, "Alright then." he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Gideon, Ben, Jane, and Nera all stood in a fortress set up for their first test.

Gideon stood before the rest, "Alright so we're gonna need to work together to make a good impression. Got it?" he asked.

They each nodded one by one.

Jane put her hands on her hips, "What's the plan then?" she questioned.

He gave a serious look, "Ben and Nera. You'll be headed down the path to the left. Once you reach our stronghold down there, one of you take the bridge and the other continue down the path. Jane you're coming with me to the stronghold down the path on the right side. Once we take each stronghold, we'll regroup at the center fortress." he instructed..

She rolled her eyes, "Yes sir." she said mockingly.

He stopped her, "If I was any other commander, you would be in a lot of trouble for speaking that way towards me. However, since this is a practice more or less, I'll let it slide." he said his grin slipping a bit.

Ben chuckled quietly while Nera just kinda stood there.

Gideon turned to them, "Well let's get moving." he said.

Ben and Nera took there path out one side of the stronghold while Gideon and Jane took the opposite.

Gideon and Jane arrived at their location first.

He smiled her way, "Here goes nothing." he said and started attacking the fort's defenses with his lance.

Jane realized that she didn't exactly have the best weapons to do this, "I'll do what I can." she accidentally said out loud.

Gideon didn't seem to notice her comment. She pulled out her two kunai and started hacking away at the fort as well.

Within a few minutes they were inside looking for any signs of enemy troops.

They spotted a man in standard Grandall armor with a great sword.

The blonde man got closer to the dark haired girl, "I think I should take him. My lance should be a pretty good match for that sword. Keep an eye out for anyone else." he whispered.

She nodded, "Got it." she whispered back.

Gideon approached the soldier, "Hey How's it going?" he taunted.

The man jumped in surprise, "Come on. Come and get me." he retorted.

The lance wielder chuckled, "And they say us cadets are bad." he remarked.

The soldier swung his sword down and Gideon knocked him aside. The man stood back up only to be bashed in the rips by the side of the lance. The great sword and lance clashed against each other. Gideon noticed an opening as he let up a bit causing the other man to tumble forward. He took the chance to knock his legs out from under him and knock him unconscious with a swift hit from his weapon.

He looked to Jane who was coming his way, "Okay. That was easy, but I have a feeling this test is more like a warm up for something else or just to kinda categorize us into who knows what there doing and who doesn't." he theorized.

Jane nodded, "I was thinking the same thing. That guy didn't take to much to take down. I wonder how the other's are doing." she responded.

* * *

Ben looked stopped for a brief second to catch his breath after weakening the stronghold's defenses enough to get inside. Nunchucks weren't the best weapons for destroying barricades.

A girl with a chinese blade stood waiting in the middle of stronghold, but she seemed to be unaware of his presence. Or at least that's what he thought.

She smirked at him, "Get out here and fight." she told him.

He put on a cocky grin and walked proudly out onto the platform, "Well then let's go." he replied.

She took a swing at him that he easily ducked under. Then he received a fast barrage slashes his way that he narrowly avoided. One of them nicked his cheek, drawing a few drops of blood. He just wiped it of and grinned wider. This irritated his opponent as she once again futilely tried to land a hit on him. He then slid down and performed a takedown, knocking her to the floor. He rolled up to his feet and pulled out one pair on nunchucks while leaving the other on his belt. He then repeatedly hit her with a wave of kick attacks using his weapons. To finish it off, Ben moved back and used a large amount of energy to swing the nunchucks with intense force that she was knocked to the opposite end of the platform.

He approached her unconscious form, "Better luck next time." he said.

Suddenly realizing that he didn't really know what to do next he scratched his head, "I'm supposed to regroup with everyone else right? Yeah that's right." he thought out loud.

Ben headed for the exit after securing his team's flag on the stronghold.

* * *

Nera snuck quietly into the stronghold.

A man with a sword and shield awaited her, "Let's go!" he yelled.

Nera sighed, "Alright then." she replied.

She swung at the man and he blocked the blow with his shield. He tried to rush her but she gracefully moved around him and ended up behind him. She jumped towards him and sent a few kicks his way. He was obviously frustrated as he fell face first onto the ground. The growled and slammed his shield on the ground. He tried to take a few cheap shots at her. When that didn't work, he just tried whatever he could aside from just losing. Losing interest in the fight, Nera giggled kicked him off the side onto a lower platform. She looked over the edge to seem his unconscious body sitting on the ground below.

Nera brushed her hair out of her face, "I was hoping for better. Farewell to you." she said as she placed their team's flag on the stronghold.

She took one last look around to make sure everything was how it should be, "All good. I should be going then." she said exiting the fort and heading for the already captured fort that Gideon and Jane resided in.

* * *

Ben and Nera ran into the stronghold one after the other.

Ben skidded to a stop in front of the other two while Nera calmly walked over to them.

The brown haired boy stood ready, "What's the plan from here on out?" he asked.

Gideon rubbed rubbed his chin, "Chances are that there'll be at least two people in the main stronghold. They're also likely to be just above the rest. So two of us will take them while the others search the place for possible others." he replied simply.

The other three nodded in approval before all four of them set out to do there job.

* * *

While Ben kept watch, Nera searched the fort. Gideon signalled quietly to Jane to move up with him to engage their targets.

There was a man with a chinese blade and a woman with a rapier. Gideon pointed to himself and then the man before pointing to Jane and then to the woman. She got the message and moved towards the rapier wielder. The leader himself moved towards the other man.

Jane jumped and landed right next to the woman, catching her by surprise. She did a quick leg sweep knocking the woman off balance.

Gideon attacked the man at the same time. The chinese blade the man had did little to nothing to the lance wielder due to the massive difference in weapon size. One thing that was surprising was that he was abnormally fast considering the weapon he was wielding weighed as much as a person.

The woman that Jane was fighting was more difficult than the others due to her quick and precise strikes. Jane dodged around her attacks just centimeters from getting hit. She found her opening though. Right as the rapier wielder moved back into her stance, Jane backflip kicked her in the jaw. The woman dropped her weapon and Jane knocked it away before giving her a stomp to the head. Before she even registered what was going on, the woman was rendered unconscious.

Gideon held his lance in one hand and thrust his lance forward with as much force as he could muster. The man screamed as he was sent flying into the water that surrounded them. The commander looked over into the water and saw him swimming across to the outside platform before climbing out and passing out.

He chuckled, "I really hope that these aren't how the rest of the army is or we're done for." he remarked.

Jane, Nera, and Ben were putting up their banner on the stronghold as they cheered among themselves.

Gideon smiled, "I have a feeling this will be the first victory of many. Especially if we get to use our actual weapons and not these basic ones they gave us." he said looking at the plain lance he held with distaste.

Ben patted him on the back, "Agreed buddy. Agreed." he said.

* * *

General Girardot was waiting to tell them the results of their first test, "You did remarkably well for your first test. I expect nothing less from the son of a fellow knight. You're a natural leader Gideon. You all worked together well and that will be key if you ever wish to see real battle. Excellent work overall. You are dismissed." he told them.

The four saluted him and waited until they were a short distance from him to celebrate.

Gideon stretched, "Good work guys. We make a great team. If we keep this up we'll be graduating in no time." he assured the rest of his team.

Jane had to agree, "Not bad. I wasn't expecting an idiot like you to last a second." she teased.

He just smiled, "I'll take it as the only form of compliment I'm gonna get from you." he replied.

Nera was walking slower, "I think you could be a better leader than your father if you got more experience, but remember that this is just one of many tests. We'll probably be facing better soldiers next time. My dad calls these guys training dummies because they more or less are there just to get cadets used to the battlefield." she explained.

Gideon nodded his thanks, "I appreciate it, but I've got a long way to go. I know what your talking about. Both dad and the old man say the same thing." he replied.

Jane raised an eyebrow, "The old man?" she asked.

He looked her way, "He's my uncle we call him old man. His name is actually Frederick Sparda and he's my dad's older brother." he answered.

They all went there separate ways after the short conversation and went to rest a bit before they had more work to do over the following days.

* * *

 **Alright and that's a wrap for the first chapter. I'm okay with how this turned out. I've said before that despite liking a lot of stuff with fighting in it I still suck at writing fighting scenes. I hope someone still likes this regardless. I'm sure someone caught the brief appearance of Aeneas and Riese. I will say that they will properly appear next chapter. I'm hoping to get my memory fixed soon so that I can refresh my memory on COTS before I write chapter 2. One thing I forgot to mention was that the characters will change weapons throughout the story sometimes for plot reasons or just because i'm tired of writing about the same fighting style. Also below this I'm gonna write out all of the CAS formulas for the for characters. Have a great night everyone and I'll see you next time.**

 **~Trevyler**

* * *

 _Name:Gideon  
Gender:Male  
Class:Knight  
Weapon:Heavy Lance_

 _Face:02  
Eyebrows:(8,18)  
Lips:(3,15)  
Eyes:(21,07)  
Skin:(6,16)  
Voice:Young Man 1_

 _Hair:Gelled Back (8,18)  
Lower Torso:Undershirt (1,27)  
Mid Torso:Leather Shirt (02,05)  
Upper Torso:Light Armor (07,04)  
Arms:Dragon Gauntlets (07,04)  
Shoulders:Shoulder Armor (07.04)  
Waist:Large Tasset (07.04)  
Upper Legs:Leather Pants (05,02)  
Feet:Protective Greaves (07,04)_

* * *

 _Name:Jane  
_ _Gender:Female  
_ _Class:Ninja  
_ _Weapon:Kunai_

 _Face:08  
Eyebrows:(03,27)  
Lips:(03,15)  
Eyes:(05,25)  
Skin:(6.16)  
Voice:Girl 2  
_

 _Hair:Warrior Princess (03,27/1,27)  
Lower Torso:Scale Bustier (1.27)  
Mid Torso:Leather Tunic (02,22)  
Upper Torso:Dodge Armor (01,08)  
Arms:Long Gloves (02,27)  
Shoulders:Spy Pads (01,08)  
Waist:Lioness Loincloth (02,22)  
Upper Legs:Tied Pants (08,08/02,22)  
Feet:Taped Boots (01,27)_

* * *

 _Name:Ben  
Gender:Male  
Class:Monk  
Weapon:Nunchaku_

 _Face:03  
Eyebrows:(05,25)  
Lips:(6,16)  
Eyes:(18,06)  
Skin:(07,17)  
Voice:Young Man 2  
_

 _Hair:Medium Hard (05,25)  
Chin:Scar (03,18)  
Mid Torso:Hunter's Jacket (15,27)  
Upper Torso:Leather Jacket (01,27)  
Arms:Knuckle Gloves (01,27)  
Waist:Leather Belt (01,27)  
Upper Legs:Hunter's Pants (06,26)  
Feet:Buckled Boots (01,27)_

* * *

 _Name:Nera_  
 _Gender:Female_  
 _Class:Sage_  
 _Weapon:Chinese Blade_

Face:07  
Eyebrows:(09,18)  
Lips:(02,18)  
Eyes:(25,20)  
Skin:(03,15)  
Voice:Girl 1

 _Hair:Medium Length (09,18)  
Mid Torso:Decorative Shirt (25,20)  
Upper Torso:Goddess Armor (25,20)  
Arms:Enchanted Braces (09,19)  
Waist:Dancer's Belt (09,19)  
Lower Legs:Ring Pants (01,14)  
Upper Legs:Ethnic Skirt (25,20)  
Feet:Protective Boots (25,20/9,19)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody my name is Trevyler and welcome back to Chronicles of the Sword and Soul. I don't even have 20 views on the story as I'm starting this chapter, but I got one review of someone who liked it so I'm gonna keep writing it. Plus I like writing this story regardless. If anyone happens to know other people who'd people who'd like to read this then please send them over. I need all the views I can get. Soul Calibur has seemingly lost it's fan fiction popularity as I don't see many stories or updates anymore. Maybe I'm just too late, but that hasn't stopped me yet. I finally fixed my Soul Calibur 3 corrupt data and am able to play Chronicles of the Sword again. It's been a lot of fun despite having to start all over again when my previous character was near level 80. Well at least my whole save data didn't corrupt. If there is someone else out here who likes this story feel free to message or review. I prefer to have someone review with an account so I can respond, but if you don't have time or for some reason can't, leave a guest review and I'll answer any questions I can in the next chapter. This chapter will be based on Chronicle 1, where you fight Abelia and her soldiers in a mock battle. I may leave some Chronicles out if they don't really hold anything extremely important, but I'll try not to do that too much. Also a few OC's will be added and a few events will be altered. Once again any new characters will have their formulas at the end of the chapter they debut in unless it's a minor appearance. Okay enough talking let's get on with the story!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2:NEW RIVALRY**

Gideon rolled onto the floor of his room, abruptly ending his peaceful sleep.

He jerked up real fast and looked around, "Looks like it's that time again." he muttered.

The stretched and popped his neck and back.

Someone knocked on his door, "Get up man! We're gonna be late for breakfast." Ben shouted.

Gideon shook away his sleep, "Give me a minute." he replied.

He quickly put on his normal dark reddish brown shirt and dark brown leather pants plus a pair of cloth boots before running out the door.

* * *

Breakfast was just like any other day, despite knowing what today was. Today was the day students would battle each other to find out who would move on to the final test. Gideon's team just happened to be so unlucky as to be chosen to fight against Abelia, Girardot's best student. He had also found out that his team would be joined by the two cadets from yesterday. The man in the purple armor was Aeneas and the woman was Riese. He had to say that he'd only spent a few minutes talking with them and had already noticed the glances they'd sneak to each other when the other wasn't looking. While Aeneas could be pretty dense at times and not notice, Riese admitted that she did like him a bit and had caught him staring more than a few times, but didn't say anything. Overall he liked them and say that they worked remarkably well together.

Gideon was pulled from his thoughts when the aforementioned woman set her tray on the table, "Good Morning." she greeted.

He gave a small wave, "Morning yes. Good...not so much." he replied.

Riese crossed her arms, "I've told you before that I don't care if we're fighting Abelia. We can still win and move on to the final test which is one step closer to graduating from this place." she reminded him.

Aeneas sat down next to each other, "You guys ready for today?" he asked with a smile.

The blue haired girl smiled back, "I am, but our leader doesn't seem to have much faith in our abilities." she told him.

Ben chuckled, "He's under quite a lot of pressure. People expect a lot more out of him considering his father is a well known commander. Give him a break." he replied.

Aeneas took a bite of his food, "Don't worry. I have a feeling that we could pull this off. We just have to keep our heads in the game and work together. I know you guys can do that since you showed it off a couple weeks back and all assignments following it. Riese and I work together well so we'd be able to do our jobs together just fine. Isn't that right Riese?" he asked.

Riese turned away from him to hide her blush, "Yes we do indeed work well together." she answered.

Gideon rolled his eyes to the obvious annoyance of Riese who discretely stuck her tough out at him.

Jane approached the table, "Real mature guys. We're training for war and you're sitting here acting like children." she said looking more specifically at Riese who just gave a sheepish smile.

Nera came next, "Hey everyone. Today's the day." she said to no one in particular.

The others just nodded and continued eating. She sighed and did the same. Ben flashed her a smile that she returned.

* * *

Breakfast went by relatively fast and unusually quiet. Girardot ordered everyone to rally outside. The announcement was mostly directed towards the two teams who would be competing today.

Gideon smirked, "Alright. Let's do our best out there and show Abelia that she's not as high and mighty as everyone says she is." he told his team.

Riese punched him lightly on the arm, "There's the guy that annoys everyone." she teased.

He chuckled, "Yeah. Just had to get back into my usual self. I just don't wanna disappoint my father. He's a war hero and I wanna be like him. I've always been told to fight for what I thought was right and that's what I plan to do." he said confidently.

Ben patted him on the back, "Remember that this isn't all about you. We're here too and we'll help you all along the way. A leader isn't a leader at all if there's no one to lead." he reminded his friend.

Girardot appeared before them, "It is time. Everyone must now take there positions. It'll be on the same field as the previous tests so you should have no problem coming up with a plan." he said to the cadets.

As they all moved towards the familiar starting stronghold, Girardot stopped Gideon, "I know that you and Abelia were never on the best terms and that you think that her confidence is misplaced, but do not under estimate her. She earned the status she has. I also know that most boys your age tend to think low of women when it's coming to fighting." he warned.

Gideon shook his head, "I come from a family of fighters and soldiers. I don't judge my opponents because they are male or female. I judge them on skill, honor, and integrity. My mother isn't a soldier, but she has taught me almost just as much about fighting as my father has. I've come to respect women who fight despite the prejudice they may receive from it." he responded.

The old general smiled, "I wish you luck then." he said simply and walked away.

The cadet caught up with his group quickly so the could begin the test, "Alright here's the plan. We'll split into groups of two and take each stronghold. One person from each team will then stay in the stronghold while the other precedes forward." he directed.

Aeneas nodded, "Simple enough. Who's gonna pair with who?" he asked.

Gideon stroked his chin, "Jane will come with me. Ben you'll go with Nera. Aeneas with Riese you two already work well together. That'll work." he said.

The others stood next to the partners and prepared to move out on Gideon's command.

* * *

Gideon and Jane waited in their stronghold to the east of their main stronghold.

Jane crossed her arms, "I was hoping for more to do." she told the commander.

He turned around from the lookout tower, "Wish granted. Two enemy soldiers approaching." he said jumping down onto the platform below.

She took her kunai off her belt, "Let's hope they'll be more entertaining than the others." she said.

He equipped his lance, "I'd be surprised if they weren't considering they're under Abelia's command." he replied.

The two soldiers included an armored woman with a great sword and a man with a very feminine appearance that sported some time of types on his boots.

Gideon decided that they should give their guests a warm welcome, "Are you ready for this?" he said as the woman's sword clashed against his lance.

Her name was Ishtar and she was one of Abelia's trusted soldiers and friends.

The male knight smirked, "I'm more than ready. Let's go." he said forcing her backwards and causing her to stumble a bit.

She quickly recovered and made a horizontal swing towards him. He jumped back just in time and thrust his lance forward a few times. She brought up her sword like a shield. It caught her off guard when Gideon jumped in the air and slammed his weapon down towards her. Her defense was down almost immediately from the force of the blow and it gave him just the opening he needed to take her down. He backed off as if he was going to retreat before moving back in quickly and knocking her off her feet. As she Ishtar tried to stand up, Gideon's weapon was at her throat. Had this been a real battle and an enemy she would be dead. Gideon used the hilt end of his weapon to knock her out without killing her. He looked upon his work before turning his attention the other battle taking place within the stronghold.

Jane was holding her opponent off without much effort. The person she was fighting was a very feminine looking male named Notus. He also used a weapon she wasn't common with. He had blades attached to his boots. His fighting style was similar to many styles of martial arts, but it lacked the use of the upper body that was used in most.

He sent a barrage of kicks her way that she back flicked away from and narrowly missed the edge of the platform. She could she that he was running out of tactics so he used a majority of his energy to send a powerful kick at her. Unfortunately for him, Jane merely side stepped the attack. He was breathing heavily. In a last ditch effort, he ran at her and dick a flying kick. He had failed to realize until too late that she was standing right along the edge of the wooden platform. He went sailing down into the lower levels where the sound of him hitting the floor could be heard. Knowing that the fall would keep him down for the count, Jane turned to Gideon who looked at her with a sense of approval.

He looked over his armor for any problems, "I'm good. How about you? Ready to go?" he asked.

Jane nodded, "Let's get going." she said as they rushed out, leaving the two unconscious troops.

* * *

When Ben and Nera got into their stronghold, they were disappointed to find that it was completely empty.

Ben groaned, "All that work getting in here and it's empty." he complained.

Nera put her hands on her hips, "Seriously. Well we better mark this place as ours and see how the others are doing." she told him.

He sighed, "Yeah I guess so." he said.

The two quickly replaced the flag of Abelia's team with their own and headed off to get a good look at the situation of the friends and team members.

* * *

Aeneas and Riese were back to back as they deflected the attacks of the two soldiers of the opposing side.

Riese ducked as Aeneas swung his lance horizontally and knocked one of them off the platform to the bottom of the stronghold where they lay unconscious.

She also rolled backwards and slashed the female soldier who was about to land a hit on him acrossed the chest, causing her to stumble.

In one quick motion, she leg swiped her opponent before knocking her out cold with the blunt end of her wave swords.

The knight gave his smile of appreciation, causing a faint blush to creep onto both of their cheeks.

As soon as he turned away, she slapped her cheeks and shook her head to make the redness pn her face go away.

She cursed herself for finding interest in someone at a time like this.

He just smiled as he noticed her actions out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't as dense as everyone thought he was. He just didn't want to embarrass her if she did something stupid if front of him so he feigned ignorance.

Both cadets would have some serious talking to do at some point. It was going to be a problem if they continued like this for too long. Maybe once the war was over, assuming they'd make it through, they could talk it out and just give a straight confession.

For now that would have to wait. They had a battle and a war to win.

* * *

The group all met up together outside of Abelia's main stronghold.

Gideon volunteered to fight her since he was the leader. He told them that if he didn't come out after a while to go in and take her on themselves.

Abelia was waiting for him as he approached, "Fight with all your might as I will." she stated.

He nodded and readied his weapon, "As you wish." he replied.

They both stared each other down before Gideon made the first move. He thrust his lance forward only for Abelia to protect herself with her shield. She countered with a quick slash to the rips that he almost didn't dodge in time. He brought his lance down on her unguarded right side. She stumbled but quickly regained her balance. Gideon spun his lance around as she tried to come close , preventing her from advancing. She waited for just the right moment and tackled him to the ground. His lance was just within reach, but he wouldn't be able to grab it in the situation he was in.

Abelia smirked, "Ready to give up?" she taunted.

Gideon got an idea and smirked back, "No but you will be in a few seconds." he said getting uncomfortably close to her.

The sudden movement stunned her a bit and caused her to release him just enough so that he could flip them over to where he was on top. He grabbed his lance and pinned her down while holding the weapon towards her.

He chuckled, "Surprised?" he asked.

She growled at him, "That was a dirty trick." she complained.

He just smiled, "I wasn't expecting it to work. Perhaps you have a thing for me?" he teased.

She tried to free her arms so she could make him shut up but to no avail.

He got close to her ear, "All you have to do is call it quits." he whispered.

She started to get angry again but calmed down, "Fine. I surrender." she gave in.

He let her up and cut down the flag of her team and replaced it with his own.

As he was leaving Abelia stopped him, "Don't get full of yourself." she told him.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder, "I won't. I still respect you. This was a bit fun. Maybe we can spar sometime and I won't use a dirty trick as you call it." he said with a genuine smile.

She crossed her arms and pretended to think about his offer, "Maybe we can." she accepted and motioned for him to be on his way.

He waved and exited the fortress and cheering was heard from his team.

Abelia sighed, ' _I think I've finally found a worthy opponent.'_ she thought.

His smile returned to her, _'And maybe a friend.'_ she added.

* * *

 **So they beat Abelia as expected. I'm going off of the COTS story for the most part but I'm probably going to add my own elements as well as the story goes on. I hope more people read this. It only has like 75 views. No new character formulas. A couple possible couples and that's about it. Have a great night everybody and I'll see you next time.**

 **~Trevyler**


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